#4Pac: What Pac-12 team is deepest at WR?

Your humble #4Pac welcomes you to the first installment of what'll be a regular feature here on the Pac-12 blog. Here's how it works: We take one question, one topic or maybe it's some other really cool format that we haven't even thought of yet and all contribute our thoughts.

Sometimes, like today, we'll be playing Devil's advocate for a specific team, player or idea.

Have a suggestion for something we should address in a future #4Pac roundtable? Go ahead and send it to our mailbag.

Our first topic is centered on wide receiver depth. Specifically, which team in the conference has the most? As a group, we selected the four schools below -- something that was not clear cut -- and then divvied them up between the four of us.

Arizona

Ted Miller/@TedMillerRK: Arizona would rate near the top of the Pac-12 just on what it's got coming back from 2013, starting with leading receiver Nate Phillips, who earned honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors as a true freshman. Toss in the water-bug quick Samajie Grant and 6-foot-4 David Richards, who combined for 29 receptions last season, as well as the surging Trey Griffey -- son of Kenny Griffey Jr. -- who hauled in two TD passes in the bowl game, and you have a talented, experienced unit.

Yet, the receivers that didn't play in 2013 have the Wildcats among the nation's best at receiver this fall.

First, there's Austin Hill, a 6-foot-3, 212-pounder who was second-team All-Pac-12 in 2012 with 81 receptions for 1,364 yards. He would have been a Biletnikoff contender in 2013 if he didn't miss the season with a blown-out knee. Then there are a pair of marquee transfers, Cayleb Jones (Texas) and Davonte' Neal (Notre Dame) who had to sit last season due to NCAA rules. Jones is another big, athletic target, while Neal is a dangerous runner with the ball in his hands out of the slot.

The list of intriguing athletes doesn't end there, but that is enough to establish Arizona as the Pac-12's deepest receiving unit. It will be interesting to see who ends up leading the unit in receptions, as Hill, Phillips and Jones are legit possibilities. The only issue? Who the heck is going to deliver the ball?

California

Kyle Bonagura/@BonaguraESPN: With apologies to Stanford, which was tough to leave off this list, Cal is the Bay Area team with the most receiver depth this season. If we’re talking top 3, maybe things are different, but considering Cal uses four receivers on just about every play and doesn’t even list a tight end, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

By returning Chris Harper (70 catches, 853 yards) and Bryce Treggs (77 catches, 751 yards), Cal is the only school in the conference that has a pair of 700-yard receivers from last season. Treggs played primarily on the inside, but the coaching staff plans to take advantage of his varied skill set by using him on the outside this season.

Interestingly, Harper wasn’t even listed with the starters on Cal’s preseason depth chart. He was behind Hawaii transfer Trevor Davis, who sat out last season after catching 45 passes for 601 and five touchdowns in two seasons with the Warriors. That shouldn’t matter too much because Cal will rotate receivers heavily, but still worth noting.

Kevin Gemmell/@Kevin_Gemmell: I’m not going to spew out a couple hundred words and pretend that the Trojans have the deepest wide receiver corps in the conference. Because they don’t -- at least not at first glance. The other schools on this list -- Arizona, Cal and Washington State -- are heavy at receiver because they run spread offenses contingent on a deep wide receiving corps.

But what the Trojans do have is Nelson Agholor, who is widely regarded as the best receiver in the conference and one of the top five in the country. And that has to count for something. I know what the counter argument is -- what if USC loses Agholor? Well, then it's in trouble. You could say that for any team’s No. 1 receiver. But there is also some talented potential behind Agholor that could be getting overlooked.

Remember George Farmer? He’s finally healthy and appears on track to start opposite Agholor after rave reviews this fall. Sports Illustrated even tapped him as one of its top players set to have a bounce-back year. Darreus Rogers (22 catches last season), Steven Mitchell, Victor Blackwell and five-star recruit JuJu Smith are also waiting in the wings. Another five-star recruit, Adoree' Jackson, could see work at receiver.

Agholor’s presence automatically makes USC relevant to this conversation. And with explosive potential behind him, it would be unwise to disregard USC’s receiving corps.

Washington State

Chantel Jennings/@ChantelJennings: I don’t know how anyone is going to make an argument for any team other than Washington State. The Cougars throw the ball more than any other team in the conference, thus they need more receivers than any other team in the conference.

They return their top seven receivers from last season. Each of those players caught at least 35 passes, and the top five receivers averaged at least 40 yards per game. What other team can say that? Yes, other teams might have a player who averages 100 or 120 receiving yards per game but the Cougars have weapons everywhere on the field. Though they might contribute in smaller amounts, the end total is greater.

Senior Vince Mayle had a huge spring for the Cougars and is continuing to impress in the fall, becoming Connor Halliday's go-to guy. Look for him and junior Gabe Marks to lead the pack. But, there’s a pretty deep group behind those two headliners.

Warning: here comes a long (very long) list of names ... but that’s what you get with the deepest receiver group in the Pac-12.